Four foreign inmates escape from Bali prison

Four foreign inmates have escaped from a prison on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, police said.

Prison officers became aware of the escape while conducting a morning check of inmates at the Kerobokan prison in Bali's capital, Denpasar, said Putu Ika Prabawa, an officer at Bali's Kuta Utara police station.

The officer said the four men were believed to have escaped through a 50 x 70cm hole found in a wall that connects to a 15m-long water tunnel heading toward a main street.

Residents observe a hole on the ground through which four foreign inmates have escaped from Kerobokan prison in Bali, Indonesia, Monday, June 19, 2017.

Davidson is serving a one-year sentence for an immigration offence, while Iliev is serving a seven-year sentence for money laundering and another offence. Said and King are serving 14 and seven years, respectively, for drug offences.

Officers have distributed pictures of the escaped inmates to police stations across Bali.

Jailbreaks are common in Indonesia, where overcrowding has become a problem in prisons that are struggling to cope with poor funding and an influx of people arrested in a war on drugs. Most prisoners have been convicted on drug charges.

Last week, dozens of inmates escaped from an overcrowded prison in western Indonesia after floods caused a wall to collapse.

Last month, more than 440 prisoners escaped from an overcrowded prison on Sumatra island when they were let out of their cells to take part in Friday Muslim prayers.

In July 2013, about 240 prisoners, including several convicted terrorists, escaped during a deadly riot at a prison in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province.